RUSSIA OFFERS 48-HOUR CEASE-FIRE IN CHECHNYA. In an appeal carried by
ITAR-TASS on 9 January and summarized by Western agencies, the Russian
government, "at the president's instigation," offered Chechen forces a 48-hour
cease-fire beginning at 8 a.m. local time on 10 January and announced that
Russian forces will cease hostilities during the same period; it also repeated
the amnesty offer contained in Yeltsin's ultimatum of 13 December to all
Chechen fighters who lay down their arms. No formal response has yet been made
by the Chechen leadership. AFP reported on 10 January that after a two-hour
lull beginning at approximately 8 a.m., Russian forces resumed shelling Grozny.
The cease-fire offer was predicted by Russian Television newscasts earlier in
the evening of 9 January on the basis of Russian Human Rights Commissioner
Sergei Kovalev's disclosure to Interfax that Russian Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin told him by telephone that he had reached an agreement with the
Russian military on a cease-fire. Interfax and Western agencies reported on 9
January that despite fierce resistance, Russian infantry reinforcements
advanced to within 200 meters of the presidential palace in central Grozny and
now controlled two-thirds of the city. * Liz Fuller & Julia Wishnevsky

INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC RESPONSES. In an interview given to
Liberation and quoted by The Washington Post on 10 January,
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe again raised the possibility of unspecified
countermeasures by the international community in response to the Russian
military incursion and human rights violations in Chechnya. NATO
Secretary-General Willy Claes also urged Russia to halt the fighting in
Chechnya "without delay." OSCE Executive Secretary Istvan Gyarmati, who
previously headed a CSCE mission to South Ossetia and is thus familiar with the
Caucasus, left for Moscow on 9 January for talks with Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Nikolai Afanasevsky on the situation in Chechnya, AFP reported on 9
January, quoting MTI. * Liz Fuller

OMON UNIT IN CHECHNYA MUTINIES.Izvestiya on 9 January carried an
account of an OMON detachment from Ekaterinburg which left Chechnya when its
superiors would not provide it with written orders. The 101-man unit had been
called up on 2 December and was part of the column commanded by Maj.-Gen.
Viktor Vorobev that advanced on Grozny several days later. Its main mission
seemed to have been to keep an eye on the inexperienced paratroopers in a
neighboring unit. One OMON officer described the airborne soldiers as "boys who
were totally unprepared for combat operations." The OMON unit's tour of duty
was to end on 2 January but was extended to 26 January. The officers were told
that their mission was "to safeguard public order" in a war involving tanks and
artillery, but they were equipped with only small arms and crowd-control
agents. Virtually the entire unit returned to Ekaterinburg when Moscow refused
to provide it with written orders to use its weapons or with the cards
authorizing it to carry weapons in a state of emergency. * Doug Clarke

WHO ARMED DUDAEV? Top Russian officials have been accusing each other of
providing Dudaev with the ammunition used by Chechen fighters against Russian
forces. The controversy reached a peak on 8 January in an interview on "Vesti"
with the last Soviet defense minister, Evgenii Shaposhnikov, who displayed a
document signed in 1992 by Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev stating that
the weaponry of the Red Army division stationed in Chechnya before it declared
itself independent should be divided between the Russian and Chechen armies on
a 50-50 basis. On 9 January, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Boris Gromov
confirmed Shaposhnikov's revelation in an interview with Ostankino Television
news "Vremya." Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shakhrai, for his part, told
Russian Television on 7 January that Shaposhnikov and his
deputies--Gromov and Grachev--had agreed to turn over to Dudaev Soviet Army
heavy artillery and aircraft that "today are firing at Russian soldiers."
Shaposhnikov and Gromov responded by saying that in 1992, Grachev was acting in
his capacity as head of the Russian Defense Committee, rather than as
Shaposhnikov's deputy, as Shakhrai claimed. * Julia Wishnevsky

SOLDIERS' MOTHERS PICKETING GENERAL STAFF. The mothers of Russian
conscripts serving in Chechnya rallied on 9 January in front of the Russian
General Staff headquarters in Moscow. "Vesti" showed footage of crying women
displaying placards and demanding that the military be put under public
control. One of the mothers told "Vesti" that the army has not informed parents
about the whereabouts of their sons. The parents demanded that the Security
Council, which is widely regarded as responsible for the decision to invade
Chechnya, be dissolved, and that Defense Minister Grachev resign and be
replaced with a civilian. The demonstrators resolved to picket the General
Staff every day. * Julia Wishnevsky

FEDOROV CRITICIZES PRESIDENT, MILITARY, DEMOCRATS. Writing in
Izvestiya on 10 January, Duma member Boris Fedorov called for immediate
presidential elections. He criticized Yeltsin for his inability to impose order
and argued that if one part of the country is not obeying the law the
government has a duty to stop illegal activities there. Additionally, he
claimed that the fighting in Chechnya has demonstrated that the armed forces
are not battle ready. Fedorov said the military should be streamlined and the
practice of conscripting soldiers ended. He also criticized democratic
politicians, including members of Russia's Democratic Choice, for not leaving
the government and their lack of a principled position in not protesting the
presence of Russian troops in such hot spots as Tajikistan, Georgia, Moldova,
Armenia, and Turkmenistan. * Robert Orttung

DUMA INITIATES INVESTIGATION. Chairman of the State Duma Defense
Committee Sergei Yushenko told a press conference in Moscow January 6 that a
public commission would begin investigating violations of the Russian
Constitution and military crimes in Chechnya, Interfax reported. The commission
will collect information that will be used for "bringing to criminal
accountability those mainly responsible for the tragedy." At the same press
conference, Duma Deputy Ella Pamfilova said that Yeltsin could not be blamed
for everything: "much of what is happening in Russia is done by Bolsheviks
under disguised as democrats, thus discrediting democracy in the eyes of the
people." * Robert Orttung

GOVERNMENT COMMISSION WANTS MORE DEFENSE MONEY. The Russian Security
Council's Commission on the Defense Industry has recommended that more money be
given to Russia's ailing defense enterprises. Yuri Andreyev, the commission's
secretary, was quoted by Interfax on 7 January as saying cuts in procurement
and research and development funds in recent years had led to an end of
production of 175 different types of arms. He warned that if current practices
were followed, only 10% of the equipment of the Russian military would be
modern weapons by the year 2000. The commission was recommending that the
defense budget be a certain--and undisclosed--percentage of the GNP. It was
also calling for consolidation within the industry and more effective
medium-term (5 years) and long-term planning for military procurement, research
and development. * Doug Clarke

KOZYREV POSTPONES VISIT TO JAPAN. A visit by Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Kozyrev to Japan scheduled to take place this month has been postponed,
Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono told AFP on 10 January. Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Aleksandr Panov reportedly informed the Japanese ambassador in
Moscow that it would be "difficult" for Kozyrev to leave Moscow now because of
the fighting in Chechnya. * Liz Fuller

COMMUNISTS DENOUNCE VALENTIN KOVALEV'S NOMINATION.Pravda
reported on 10 January that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
denounced the decision of Valentin Kovalev, a member of the Communists' Duma
faction, to join the government as minister of justice. The Central Executive
Committee issued a statement saying that "there can be no discussion of the
Communists joining the government" while the president and government continue
their current policies. The Communists characterized the nomination of Kovalev
as an attempt to discredit their party by giving the appearance that they were
in coalition with the Yeltsin leadership. * Robert Orttung

GRAIN IMPORTS PREDICTED UP IN 1995. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr
Zaveryukha said Russia is likely to import 25-30 million tons of grain in 1995,
making it one of the world's largest importers, Interfax reported on 9 January.
Zaveryukha said last year's draft budget initially reserved 18.1 trillion
rubles ($4.9 billion) for agriculture but was then trimmed to about 10 trillion
rubles ($2.7 billion). The 1995 draft budget provides for investing 8 trillion
rubles ($2.2 billion) in agriculture. A leading member of the Agrarian Party
parliamentary faction, Zaveryukha said this was less than 4% of total spending
plans and was "clearly inadequate." Zaveryukha's comments suggest there will be
a battle for cash between powerful lobby groups and the Finance and Economic
Ministries during the second reading of the draft budget expected later this
month, Russian and Western agencies reported. The prime minister said the
Agrarian Party will argue for a 2% increase in VAT to support agriculture. An
alternative to this might be a special tax on profits from all enterprises, he
said. * Thomas Sigel

BANK LIQUIDATION PROCEDURE ANNOUNCED. Banks on the brink of collapse
will now be liquidated either by decision of its owners or by court
arbitration, the Central Bank told Interfax on 6 January. Under existing
legislation, licenses can be revoked from banks that lose money and banks
engaged in risky credit procedures that could jeopardize the interests of
creditors and investors. The legislation also provides for voluntary
liquidation of a debtor bank under the supervision of the creditors. A decision
to voluntarily liquidate the debtor bank and officially announce its bankruptcy
will be made by the bank managers, together with the creditors and approved by
the bank owners. Once a liquidation commission has been established in a
commercial bank, the Central Bank will transfer to its account the money from a
compulsory reserve fund. The bank customers and creditors will then have to
apply either to the bank or the bank board to resolve issues related to the
liquidation. Of the nearly 2,500 commercial banks registered in Russia, over
20% lost money by the third quarter of 1994, according to Paramonova. Tighter
regulations and requirements need to be established if banks are to succeed. *
Thomas Sigel

GERMAN OFFICIAL ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ESPIONAGE. Reuters reported on 7
January that Eckart Werthebach, head of Germany's Federal Office for the
Protection of the Constitution, said in a recent interview with Focus
magazine that Russia's spies, frequently using the cloak of diplomacy, remain
highly active throughout Germany. This disclosure was made despite German and
Russian security and espionage services effectively cooperating in areas such
as drug trafficking and terrorism. According to Werthebach, industry is
currently the favored target of Russian agents, with spies frequently able to
function in German industries, "operating like fish in water." Werthebach's
conclusion simply is that "the number of legal residents we have identified (as
spies) must be massively reduced. . . . This is the job of politicians." * Stan
Markotich

ARMENIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF ON RATIONALE FOR ARRESTS. Speaking on
national television on 6 January, Armenian security chief David Shakhnazaryan
reiterated that the arrests in late December of several members of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsyutyun) were motivated by the need "to put
an end to terror and new political assassinations which had only one
purpose--to destabilize the country," according to Interfax on 7 January.
Shakhnazaryan further denied the existence of any political prisoners in
Armenia. Dashnak spokesman Ruben Akopyan told journalists on 9 January that the
ban on the party was illegal and that it would continue its activities, Ekho
Moskvy reported. * Liz Fuller

KUCHMA IN GEORGIA. Ukrainian radio reported on 9 January that President
Leonid Kuchma arrived in Tbilisi on an official visit. Kuchma met with Georgian
Parliament Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze and signed a series of documents on
socioeconomic relations, trade and coordinating their activities in
international affairs. The head of Kuchma's administration, Dmytro Tabchnyk,
said that the meeting signaled a new strategic partnership between Georgia and
Ukraine. * Ustina Markus

REGISTRATIONS FOR ESTONIAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS. The Fourth Force,
Better Estonia/Estonian Citizen, and Our Homeland is Estonia coalitions
registered for the 5 March Estonian parliament elections on 9 January, bringing
the number of groupings to seven, BNS reports. The Fourth Force combines the
Royalist and Greens parties. Our Homeland is Estonia unites three
Russian-speaking parties: Estonian People's Assembly Party, Russian Party of
Estonia, and Russian People's Party of Estonia. The other four registered
coalitions are the Moderates, The Pro-Patria and National Independence Party
Union, Coalition Party and Country People's League and Justice. Eight other
parties (Center Party, Rightists, Reform Party, Estonia of the Future Party,
Estonian Blue Party, Estonian National League, Forest Party, and Estonian
Farmer's Party) have so far announced they will run on individual tickets.
Parties and coalitions are required to submit their candidatures by 19 January.
* Saulius Girnius

OPPOSITION LEADER CRITICIZES LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER. At a press
conference on 9 January, Homeland Union Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis sharply
criticized the policies of Adolfas Slezevicius over military transit, RFE/RL's
Lithuanian Service reports. Landsbergis said he feared that Slezevicius, in
planned talks with his Russian counterpart, Viktor Chernomyrdyn, later this
month in Moscow, may agree to sign a separate military transit agreement with
Russia in exchange for getting most-favored-nation trade status. Landsbergis
noted that the premier's "inclination to improvisations" in foreign policy had
resulted in misunderstandings in talks with Poland, Belarus, and Latvia.*
Saulius Girnius

BELARUSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BRUSSELS. Uladzimir Syanko flew to
Brussels to sign NATO's Partnership for Peace Program, Belarusian Radio
reported on 9 January. The head of the parliament Commission on National
Security, Anatol Novikau, said that although Belarus is joining the program the
republic will not change its military equipment to bring it into line with
NATO's and will not participate in joint NATO exercises. Belarusian officials
earlier said the country cannot afford the exercises or any modification to its
military equipment. * Ustina Markus

WALESA BLASTS PAWLAK. Polish President Lech Walesa on 9 January launched
his strongest attack to date on Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak. In an interview
with Polityka reported by Gazeta Wyborcza, Walesa proposed that
Pawlak go on vacation because his abilities were overtaxed. Descxribing Pawlak
as "a young and inexperienced politician who should not be punished further,"
the president again hinted that Democratic Left Alliance leader Aleksander
Kwasniewski should take over as prime minister. Asked if Pawlak intended to
resign, however, the government press office commented simply that "the prime
minister will have his own interview in Polityka next week." The regular
Monday meeting between the president and prime minister was canceled. In
another sign of the breakdown in cooperation and communication within the
government and between the president's camp and the prime minister, Foreign
Minister Andrzej Olechowski on 9 January sent letters to Pawlak rejecting
charges of dereliction of duty and restating his offer to resign, with or
without presidential approval. * Louisa Vinton

SURVEY SHOWS 64% OF UKRAINIANS STILL SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE. In an annual
survey taken by the International Sociological Institute in Kiev, 64% of
Ukrainians polled said they continue to favor their country's independence,
state-run Ukrainian Television News reported on 9 January. This represents an
8% increase over the previous December but is much lower than the more than 90%
who voted for a separate Ukrainian state in a referendum on 1 December 1991,
the institute's director, Volodymyr Khmelko, said. Extreme left political
groups, led by the Communist Party, are collecting signatures for a petition,
mostly in the more Russified eastern regions of Ukraine, to hold a referendum
on the reestablishment of the former Soviet Union. * Chrystyna Lapychak

UKRAINIAN PREMIER SUPPORTS FURTHER FARM CREDITS. During a tour of
collective farms in the northern Chernihiv region, Ukrainian Prime Minister
Vitalii Masol told farm workers he believes the cash-strapped Ukrainian
government should continue to subsidize the still mostly state-owned
agricultural sector, as well as private farmers, and bail out any potential
bankruptcies, state television news reported on 9 January. His statements
contradict President Leonid Kuchma's plans to overhaul radically the
beleaguered state financing system for the farm sector and push ahead with
privatization of farms and related industry. * Chrystyna Lapychak

OIL DELIVERIES FROM RUSSIA TO CZECH REPUBLIC INTERRUPTED. Kamil Cermak,
spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry, told journalists on 9
January that deliveries of crude oil from Russia to the Czech Republic have
been cut for a second time since the New Year. He suggested that deliveries
will resume on 10 January. If that does not happen, the government will have to
release oil from state reserves, but Cermak said the extent of the reserves was
"a state secret." The country's biggest refineries announced that they have
enough oil for several more days. The Czech Republic is heavily dependent on
Russian oil, delivered by pipeline through Ukraine and Slovakia. Officials said
supplies were interrupted because of annual negotiations over pipeline transit
fees. They said Ukraine wanted to increase fees five-fold for pumping oil
through its territory. * Jiri Pehe and Steve Kettle

CZECH VICTIMS OF NAZISM CLAIM COMPENSATION. More than 15,000 Czechs have
registered since a law enabling them to claim compensation for persecution
under the Nazi occupation came into effect at the beginning of December 1994,
Czech media reported on 10 January. A special compensation fund has so far paid
out over 30 million koruny ($1.3 million) but many claims have been sent back
because they were incomplete. Former political prisoners, or their surviving
spouses, can claim 2,300 koruny for every month spent in jail or internment.
Widows, widowers, or offspring of those who died under interrogation, in jails,
or in concentration camps, can receive up to 100,000 koruny. * Steve Kettle

SLOVAK OPPOSITION PARTY CRITICIZES CABINET, MEDIA. At a press conference
on 9 January, Party of the Democratic Left Chairman Peter Weiss said his party
will join other opposition forces in asking the Constitutional Court to review
two laws passed by the parliament concerning privatization. Weiss accused the
governing coalition of an increasing tendency to disregard the constitution,
citing also the cabinet's delay in submitting its manifesto to the parliament.
Weiss stressed that within 30 days, the document has to be presented to the
parliament for a vote, not just to parliamentary committees. PDL deputy Brigita
Schmoegnerova said the delay in presenting the program manifesto shows that the
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia is not prepared to govern. She stated that
the opposition will carefully follow how closely the cabinet manifesto follows
the basic promises the MDS made to its voters, noting that the provisional
budget was clearly lacking. Weiss also criticized Slovak Television and Radio
for presenting only the opinions of the ruling coalition and stressed that, as
public institutions, they should be expected to present the views of all
parliamentary parties, including the opinions of the opposition on government
activities. Weiss encouraged STV to broadcast live the parliamentary discussion
of the cabinet manifesto. * Sharon Fisher

UN TRIES TO FIRM UP BOSNIAN CEASEFIRE. Two issues are preoccupying top
UN officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are working to maintain the current
truce. The first is the situation around Sarajevo, where government forces have
yet to confirm that they have completely withdrawn from the demilitarized zone
around Mt. Igman. The Serbs, furthermore, have demanded that the mainly Muslim
troops pull back even further. Reuters on 10 January quoted a UN spokesman as
saying that talks on 8 January between UN commander General Sir Michael Rose
and Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic "were not overly positive." UN chief
envoy Yasushi Akashi said that agreements have been signed and must now be
speedily implemented without additional demands. The second point of attention
is the Bihac pocket, where UN officials are trying to get the Krajina Serbs to
sign the ceasefire. Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic told Reuters that Akashi
is sending a delegation to Krajina and will contact the Security Council if
Knin continues to balk. * Patrick Moore

CROATIAN UPDATE. Vjesnik reports on 10 January that President
Franjo Tudjman the previous day received a top-level delegation from the
Croatian-Muslim federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including President
Kresimir Zubak, Vice President Ganic, and the defense ministers of both
countries. The visit appears to be the latest in a series of moves to shore up
the federation. These moves have greatly improved living conditions in much of
the embattled republic but have often been hindered by local warlords. On a
different note, the independent Feral Tribune on 10 January writes
critically about what government officials call "a Croatian orientation" in the
press. The paper asks how a publication staffed by Croats in Croatia and
writing in the local language cannot be Croatian, but it concludes that what
the authorities really mean by "a Croatian orientation" is servility. Most of
the media are in the hands of the ruling party, and the director of state-run
television has said that television must be "a cathedral of the Croatian
spirit." * Patrick Moore

RUMP YUGOSLAVIA'S INDEPENDENT MEDIA GARNER INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. The
International Federation of Journalists has come to the aid of the independent
besieged rump Yugoslav media, hoping to raise some $5,000 per day to keep the
independent Belgrade daily Borba operational, international media
reported on 9 January. At a Brussels meeting the same day, organized by the
IFJ, representatives of other independent media from rump Yugoslavia joined
with Borba staff members, such as deputy managing director Branislav
Milosevic, in appealing for additional help to stay afloat. They stressed that
without outside support it may be only a question of time, perhaps no more than
several weeks, before independent media become a thing of the past because of
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's ongoing efforts to silence all
opposition. Since Milosevic's bid in late December to take overBorba,
the hardships imposed on the daily have forced circulation to plummet to an
estimated 10,000 copies a day from at least 35,000. * Stan Markotich

HDFR LEADER ON HUNGARIAN MINORITIES. The president of the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania, Bela Marko, said the situation of the
Hungarian minority in Romania is the only real point of contention between the
two countries. In an interview with the BBC summarized by Radio Bucharest on 9
January, Marko said no basic bilateral treaty will be successful without
providing a solution to this problem. Marco said Magyar minorities living in
other countries are confronted with similar situations. The Hungarian minority
in Ukraine, he explained, has achieved cultural autonomy and the issues of
bilingual street signs, education in the minority language, and the use of
national symbols, have been resolved. Marco added that, during a recent visit
to Moldova, he witnessed how the problem of the Gagauz minority was dealt with
successfully. The special status granted by the Moldovan parliament to regions
inhabited by compact national minorities resembles the HDFR's proposals for
Romania, apart from the right to secession granted to the Gagauz in special
situations, he said. * Michael Shafir

BANKING SCANDAL IN ROMANIA. The chairman of a private Romanian bank has
been taken into custody just before he was to travel to the United States for a
conference sponsored by President Bill Clinton, an RFE/RL correspondent in
Bucharest reported on 9 January. Marcel Ivan of the Credit Bank was detained by
police in Bucharest on 7 January on charges of fraud and manipulating the
bank's credit policies for personal gain. Romanian police issued a statement
saying the charges against Ivan are the result of an investigation conducted by
Romania's Central Bank last fall. Ivan was a member of a delegation of Romanian
government officials and businessmen who will attend the "White House
Conference for Trade and Investment in CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE," to open on
12 January in Cleveland, Ohio. * Michael Shafir

ANTI-GYPSY VIOLENCE IN ROMANIA. Local residents burned down two houses
in the southern Romanian village of Bacu in Giurgiu county, Radio Bucharest
reported on 9 January. Police intervened and prevented them from setting fire
to other houses. Several persons, both Gypsies and Romanians, were injured;
some were hospitalized, but none was reported to be in a serious condition. *
Michael Shafir

BULGARIAN COMMUNISTS WERE WILLING TO RECOGNIZE TURKISH MINORITY IN 1984.
An article in 24 chasa on 10 January reports that in 1984, the
then-governing Bulgarian Communist Party was about to grant political and
social rights to the country's ethnic Turks. Party leader Todor Zhivkov
supported a document recognizing "the national consciousness of the Bulgarian
Turks." In late 1984, however, the position of the party and the government
changed, resulting in massive repression and the forceful Bulgarization of the
names of the ethnic Turks. It has remained unclear why the BCP's position on
this question changed. A commentary published in Kontinent on 10 January
states that even a decade later the Bulgarian public still does not know what
led to the so-called "renaissance process." The author assumes, however, that
this is "a political time-bomb, the explosion of which might lead to the
political death of many [politicians]." * Stefan Krause

LINE-UP OF NEW BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT READY SOON? The members of the new
Bulgarian government will be selected by the end of this week, Duma
reported on 10 January, citing Socialist Deputy Chairman Yanaki Stoilov.
Bulgarian Socialist Party legislator Aleksandar Marinov told Trud the
same day that by 20 January, BSP leader Zhan Videnov must have a mandate to
form a new government. He also stated that the government's legislative
projects will have priority in the National Assembly's legislative work.
According to articles published in Demokratsiya and Zemya on 10
January, there will be five or six new ministries. The Committees for Energy
and for Post and Telecommunications will certainly be turned into ministries,
while there will probably be a Ministry for European Affairs.
Demokratsiya also reported that there are three candidates for every
ministry, citing unnamed BSP officials. Standard reported the same day
that former Prime Minister Lyuben Berov offered his help to the BSP as a
counselor for the economic part of the new government's program. Before being
appointed prime minister in late 1992, Berov was economic adviser to the Union
of Democratic Forces and to President Zhelyu Zhelev. * Stefan Krause

COLLEAGUES ACCUSE ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT JUDGE. Two colleagues of Chief
Supreme Court Judge Zef Brozi called his decision to release a Greek citizen
accused of drug smuggling "a flagrant violation of the law and an arbitrary
act," Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 10 January. Judges Metush Saraci and
Zef Nika also said in an interview with Albanian Television on 9 January that
Brozi took the decision against the advice of other judges. Brozi reacted to
the charges by saying that "all this is a big fraud" and adding that "the
question has nothing to do with the release of the Greek but with the quick
elimination of myself." Brozi has become a political enemy of President Sali
Berisha by suggesting that the president is corrupt and by criticizing
Berisha's referendum on the constitution. Parliament has refused to lift
Brozi's immunity, as requested by Chief Prosecutor Alush Dragoshi in late
December. * Fabian Schmidt

FATOS NANO HEARD AS WITNESS IN BANK SCANDAL. Albanian Socialist Party
Leader Fatos Nano, who is serving a jail term for corruption, will be heard as
a witness in a bank scandal trial that began on 6 January. Former Prime
Minister Vilson Ahmeti is being tried for a second time, together with former
Trade Bank Director Agron Saliu and his deputy Agim Tartari. They were
sentenced to between two and seven years in prison, but a court of appeal
ordered the retrial on the basis of new evidence that also implicated former
National Bank Governor Ilir Hoti and former Trade Bank Director Ardian Xhyheri.
The five officials are charged with misappropriating $1.2 million, which was
paid in 1991 to a French citizen to negotiate forgiveness of Albania's foreign
debts. Other witnesses in the trial will be former Economy Ministers Gramoz
Pashko and Genc Ruli and former Foreign Trade Minister Ylli Cabiri, Gazeta
Shqiptare and Aleanca reported on 10 January. * Fabian Schmidt